Let the Nations Be Glad

Sunday, September 14, 2025
Pastor Jojo Ma

I.          The church as a compelling community
II.        The church as a missional community
III.       The church as a spiritual community

I.         The church as a compelling community
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

From their great diversity, they have a great unity --- the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers.

At Antioch, teaching God’s Word was as basic to the church as eating and drinking are to life. A church without biblical instruction is a not a true Christian church.

II.        The church as a missional community
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

We must understand not only the priority of the gospel message but the centrality of the local church. If you are a Christian, you need to be a committed member of a Bible teaching local church where you are led, where you are fed, where you can serve, and where you can be sent.

“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.” Nicene Creed

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

III.      The church as a spiritual community
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

The Kingdom of God, the gospel message, and the life of the Christian church are spiritual realities and involve spiritual battles. We do not fight against flesh and blood. Our work is a spiritual work. Our Kingdom labors are spiritual labors.

12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

I.          The church as a compelling community
II.        The church as a missional community
III.       The church as a spiritual community

John Piper: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.”